Bald-faced Hornet - Life Cycle

Life Cycle

Every year, queens that were born and fertilized at the end of the previous season begin a new colony. The queen selects a location for its nest, begins building it, lays a first batch of eggs and feeds this first group of larvae. These become workers and will assume the chore of expanding the nest — done by chewing up wood which is mixed with a starch in their saliva. This mixture is then spread with their mandibles and legs, drying into the paper-like substance that makes up the nest. The workers also guard the nest and feed on nectar, tree sap and fruit pulp. They also capture insects and arthropods, which are chewed up to be fed to the larvae. In addition, Bald-Faced Hornets have been observed scavenging raw meat. This continues through summer and into fall. Near the end of summer, or early in the fall, the queen begins to lay eggs which will become drones and new queens. After pupation, these fertile males and females will mate, setting up next year's cycle of growth.

As winter approaches, the wasps die – except any just-fertilized queens. These hibernate underground, under logs or in hollow trees until spring. The nest itself is generally abandoned by winter, and will not be reused. When spring arrives, the young queens emerge and the cycle begins again.

Bald-faced hornets visit flowers, especially in late summer, and can be minor pollinators.

Like other social wasps, bald-faced hornets have a caste system made up, in one nest, of the following:

1. Queen – the fertile female which starts the colony and lays eggs.
2. Workers – infertile females which do all work except laying eggs.
3. Drones – males, which have no stingers, and are born from unfertilized eggs.
4. New queens – fertile females, each of which, once fertilized, may start its own nest in the spring.